Kilimanjaro National Park Travel Forum

Hi all!

My friend and I are planning to climb Mt. Kili this Fall. We did Machu Pichu a year ago, and I understand it is nothing in comparison to Mt. Kili in terms of stamina required. So we are looking for the best ways to prepare ourselves. I had an idea to sign up for a marathon training, but wonder if that kind of training will help with climbing. Please share your tips.

Thank you all!
Cheers,
A

My guide on Kili said that we worst climbers are marathon runners and teenagers! Neither understand how to pace themselves.

The Kili guides will tell you "pole, pole" or slow, slow. The idea is to take it easy as possilbe and get acclimitized until the last day of the climb.

The last day on Kili you start at midnight, get to the rim at dawn, and then climb most of the way down by noon. So you need to be rested for that last day when you climb/downclimb for 12 hours, and the more time you spend beforehand on the mountain acclimitizing, and the slower you do the early part of the climb, the better you will feel on the last day. The worst part of the climb, by far IMHO, is the down climb. By then your legs are shot. So that is where training can pay off if your legs are used to taking a pounding.

I see you live near Washington, DC. So do I, and the best training is to do a climb like Old Rag every weekend for the months before going to Kili. Do the nearby Billy Goat Trail at Great Falls in the evening as often as you can. If you were near a mountain with a ski trail I would recommend running down it as often as possible to get your legs ready for the pounding of downclimbing.
There are DC hiking groups like
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/novahikers/cal
that do long nearby hikes every weekend

Take a look at my Kili web pages for some more tips about drugs, guides, etc.

Have a great trip!

Ooops, when I saw you lived in Arlington, I thought it was Arlington, VA. But I see it is in Vermont. So you will have to look for some VT mountains.

BTW, if the altitude of Dead Woman pass on the Machu Pichu trail did not bother you too much, then Kili with several days of acclimatization should be doable.

Hey Alla,

VA DAVE has a fantastic page on Kilimanjaro! You really should check it out! Great tips (I learned about 'poppin' the motrin from his pages!) ;-)

Also Jackfruit here on VT has a great write up about her experience climbing Kilimanjaro.

I'm in training myself now to try and summit Kili in a few months. I found a really helpful website that tells you how to prepare for the climb.

http://www.africatravelresource.com/africa/E/tanzania/accommodation/N/T65-kilimanjaro/00a.htm

What Dave says about doing some 'practice hikes' is really sound advice. I've been told that by several trekkers.

I have also been told the importance of 'pacing yourself' once you get on the mountain. "Pole Pole" is the way to go. Just enjoy the scenery along the way!

If you have a chance, rent the DVD "Kilimanjaro: To The Roof Of Afica."

Great documentary about a crew of trekkers who climbed the Machame route. Beautiful footage and it chronicles the experiences of this diverse group (ages from 13 to 65 years old!)

Good luck with the training! Good luck with the climb!!

Take care,

G_G

Hi there!!

I did Kilimanjaro climb last February through the Marangu route and it was all fun!! You dont need too much stamina for the trek however you must be physically fit to get to the top. If you have done other climbs before I think Kili wont challenge you much. Altitude sickness could be a problem but the 6 days program allows you to have time to acclimatize. I used Lucky Tours and they were excellent!! The mountain guide was very knowlegable and kind to us. Another point I liked during the hike was the tasty meals that our cook made for us!! I recommend you check out with them on info@luckytourssafaris.com for they will be of great assistance to you as they are quite professionals.

Wish you all the best

I agree that runners probably dont pace themselves but I was also told that long distance runners cope better with the lack of oxygen at the top (approx 50% of sea level). Of the 16 in my group only 4 of us got to the summit: 2 of us were long distance runners and 1 was an ex royal marine. Dont get me wrong its not for the fitness that you should start training for a marathon, its so that you are used to the oxygen levels!

Dave

Yes, running is definitely a positive in getting fit for Kili.

Rather than focusing on any one form of exercise, I try toward variety: running, tennis, skiing, hiking, exercise machines, free weights.

Stairmaster machines also work for me since they specificially work on the climbing muscles in the legs.

I could not call myself an athletic or even sports person and I never ever climbed mountains or even went hiking. For me Kili was the first serious mountain in my life.
Yes, it was very very hard, but not impossible. And we did it.
In our group there was only one man who climbed before - and he was 63 y.o.
He reached Gilman's point and went back and we continue our way to Uhuru.

A marathon training is not what you need. Just simple running-track which could be find at any fitness can help. Put 6-8% of slope gradient and one month of training will be enough for Kili.

Good luck,

Pavel

Thank you guys for all the valuable advice! My friend and I decided to do Machame route in September and have started training for it. I will do a lot of stairs!

Thank you and good luck with your travels!

Alla

Stairs are good, long distance running is good. I definitely recommend taking the extra day on the Machame route. If I'd have taken it I think I could have made the summit. As it was I collapsed from exhaustion after day 4, which is a long day. I only had a few hours to rest before the summit attempt and I just had nothing in reserve.

Motivation and a positive mental attitude is as important as physical training though. If you are going with someone else make a pact to try and help each other along mentally. I went with a group of different abilities and with different goals, so we didn't help each other out as much as we could have. Be very clear of why you want to climb this mountain, because you're bound to ask yourself the question at some point on the climb, so you'd better have an answer ready to keep yourself going!

Check my Kili page for how NOT to do it ;)

Excellent recommendations here.

I am currently in training for my trek up Kili and I have been working with a personal trainer to help with the endurance and stamina, I am also doing weekend hikes, and lots of stretching with some yoga classes...

I find that whether the weekend hikes are "easy" or not, the important thing here is to get your body use to the long walks that will ultimately get you to the top.

My friend, an experienced hiker and ex-REI employee says that the best thing is to get out there.

I'm really looking forward to my climb up Kili.

Good luck.

~J